Apparatus for continuous cooking



Feb. 12, 1952 ASHTON 2,585,293

APPARATUS FOR CONTINUOUS COOKING Filed April 25, 1949 2 SHEETSSHEET l 4 INVENTOR.

650965 ASHTO W- MM G. ASHTON 2,585,293

APPARATUS FOR CONTINUOUS cooxmc 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 IN V EN TOR. GEORGE As ro/v,

Feb. 12, 1952 Filed April 25, 1949 Patented Feb. 12, 1 952 UNITED STATES ;.;PAT'ENT OFFICE a 2,585,233 APPARATUS FOR CONTINUOUS COOKING .George Ashton, Los Angeles, Calif. Application April 25, 1949, Serial No. 39,499

This invention relates to apparatus for cooking edible materials, such as nut meats of all kinds, chopped sliced or diced vegetables, shrimp and similar food products which are normally French fried, i. e., cooked in deep fat or other liquid cooking medium. More particularly the invention contemplates effecting the cooking in a continuous manner and with a minimum of attention by the operator.

One object of the invention is to provide cooking apparatus of the described type which is automatic in operation and which will operate over long periods without attention other than supplying the material to be cooked. Another o ject is to effect the cooking uniformly and in such a manner as to produce cooked edible material of high quality. Another object is to avoid crushing or breaking of pieces of edible material while in the apparatus. Another object is to provide a cooking apparatus which can be quickly and easily taken apart for cleaning. Stillother objects will be apparent from the detailed description which follows.

Feeding raw material in small batches avoids undue cooling of the cooking medium'and results in rapid sealing of the pores so that natural flavors are preserved, and minimum absorption of the cooking medium occurs, thus making the cooked product more palatableand more easily digested. At the same time the keeping qualities of the cooked product are improved and the tendency toward rancidity is reduced, and there is less consumption of cooking medium during the cooking operation, all resulting from thereduced absorption of cooking medium.

In order to illustrate the invention-and its operation, one concrete embodiment thereof is shown in the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view partlybroken away at one end;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional viewutaken generally on the line 22 of Fig. 4 but showing same parts in elevation;

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2 but omitting any showing .of cover and base; 7

. .1 Claim. (Cl. 99-404) Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view on-the line Fig. 5 is a similar sectional view but on the line 5-5 of Fig. 2;

Figs. 6 and. 7 are fragmentary somewhat schematic views on the line 55 of Fig. 2 showing certain of the parts in different positions; and

flanges-9a. on the upper face of base ;9 is placed a rectangular open-top container 1 l for receiving a-body -12 of cooking fluid such as vegetable oil or the like, suitable for the desired cooking operation. Within the opposite ends of container II are arcuate or semi-circular bearing plates Ha and Ha which are welded or otherwise secured to the end walls of the container and are additionally secured to brackets Ilb extending from the inner side walls of the container. These bearingplates rotatably receive the exterior end surfaces of a cylindrical member or drum l3 so that the member is partially immersed in the body of cooking liquid [2. Suitable perforations 1311' in the wall of member I3 permit movement of the cooking liquid into and out of theimember as it rotates. Member l3 receives the articles of edible material to be cooked, such as nut meats, at one end intermittently in measuredbatches and moves the same lengthwise of said member as-it rotates, by suitable means such as'a spiral or helical flange [31) on the interiorof member 13. The material charged into member it falls into the cooking-fluid l2 and flange I312 moves the-material which is submerged in mild 12 the length of member l3. The cooked product is eventually lifted out of cooking fluid I 2 by the slanting partition plate at'the end of spiral flange band is discharged by spout 1365 through a central opening =l3e in one end wall I31 of member IS. A collar I3d closes the space between spout 13d and flange l3b toprevent-the materialirom passing beyond the last turn of the flange, so that all the material is picked up by partition-plate I30 and discharged through spout I36. As the nuts or other articles of cooked material are lifted out of the cooking fluid by-the inclined plate 130 at the rising side of the drum, any excess of cooking fluid removed therewith is permitted to drainoff by gravity and pass through the drum'perforations 13a and return to the liquid body I2. A spout I4 which is mounted on the end wall of container I I guides the cooked product into a suitable container, such as I5 (Fig. 2), below the cooking apparatus.

The opposite end plate I3g of drum member I3 has centrally mounted therein a stub shaft I6 by which member I3 isrotated. This stub shaft rests in and is supported by a half bearing such as a half-collar I'Ia forming an integral part of a plate I! secured to container II. A motor I8 is mounted upon the base 9 and is arranged to rotate drum I3 at constant speed through a detachable connection such as tongue and groove coupling elements I9 and 20. As shown, tongue element I9 is mounted on the motor shaft and groove element 20 on stub shaft I6 of drum I3. Motor I8 may be provided with speed reducing gearing and change-speed gearing so that the speed of rotation of drum I3 may be readily changed to adapt the cooking apparatus to differing cooking periods.

The mechanism for feeding the material to be cooked in batches intermittently into cooking member or drum I3 will now be described, reference being had particularly to Fig. 2 and Figs. 5 through 8. The peripheral wall portion of drum I3, at the admission end is preferably imperforate so as to provide a smooth continuous cylindrical wall portion I3h, and has an opening 2| adapted and arranged to register during each revolution of the drum with the open lower end of a hopper 22 which is mounted above drum !3. Hopper 22 has tapered wall 22a leading to its open lower end and these tapered walls have arcuate extensions 22b and 220 (Fig. 5) which conform to the cylindrical wall portion I3h of member I3 and fit over and within, respectively, the extreme ends of the adjacent bearing plate Ila on container II. These extensions maintain the open end of the hopper in proper relation to rotating member I3 so that the cylindrical wall of the latter holds the charge in hopper 22 at all times when opening 2| is not in register with the open end of the hopper. The upper portion of the hopper i supported by pivot pin 23 for a purpose later to be described, this pivot pin having its ends received in suitable openings in the side members of a partial housing 24 secured to and extending upwardly from base 9 around motor I8. The hopper may be supported in its lowered or operative position, as shown, by any suitable supporting means such as by bearing engagement of extensions 22b and 220 with the imperforate drum wall portion I3h, or by supporting engagement of the lower ends of said extensions with the upper ends of bearing plate I la.

Mounted within drum I3 immediately adjacent opening 2| is a measuring cup or receptacle 25 adapted to receive a measured charge of material to be cooked when opening 2| registers with the open end of hopper 22 as clearly shown in Fig. 5. In this position the lower or inner end of measuring cup 25 is closed by a hinged closure member 26 hinged at 21 to one side of the cup and provided with a weight 26a to promote movement thereof by gravity. A rod 28 attached to closure 26 extends through a curved slot 29 in the end wall |3g of member I3 to engage a cam surface on cam 30. In it operative position cam 30 extends over and above stub shaft I5 as clearly shown in full lines in Fig. 8. Cam 30 is pivotally mounted at 3| on the end wall of container II and in operative position engages the annular half bearing I'm on plate I1 as a stop. The pivotal mounting of the cam permits it to be swung to the broken line position 30 (Fig. 8), away from the shaft I6 so that drum I3 can be lifted up when it is to be removed from container Sequential positions of the measuring cup 25 during rotation of drum I3 are shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7. In Fig. 5 opening 2| in the drum is in full register with the open end of the hopper at which time the material to be cooked passes from the hopper by gravity into and fills cup 25. At this time closure member 26 i held by cam 30 and rod 28 in closed position and continues in this position until opening 2| is entirely out of register with hopper 22. Rod 28 then passes beyond the cam surface and closure 26 falls open by gravity (see Fig. 6). The material in cup 25 then falls to the lower portion of member I3 into the body of cooking fluid. The particles of material falling from receptacle 25 are directed by the closure 26 and by an inclined deflector plate I37, into position in front of the initial turn of flange I3b (see Figs. 2 and 6) which then moves the material lengthwise of element I3 While the material continues to be immersed in the cooking fluid until it is discharged in fully cooked condition through I3c. As the drum continues to rotate opening 2| therein again approaches hopper 22 and rod 28 on closure 26 is again engaged by cam 30 as shown in Fig. 7 and the closure 26 is forced to closed position by the time the opening 2| starts to register with the open end of the hopper. Slot 29 limits the opening movement of the closure 26 by engagement of rod 28 with the end of said slot as shown in Fig. 6 so as to direct the falling material upon the inclined plate I3] and in front of the end portion I3b of flange I3.

In order to prevent crushing of food material when the following edge of opening 2| cuts off and completely closes the open end of the hopper, suitable means are provided in the form of a yieldable wall portion or member on the hopper. To this end the tapered wall 22a of the hopper is recessed or cut away and a portion of extension 220 is disposed in spaced relation to member I3 to provide a chamber 2201. An arm 22c is pivotally mounted at 22 in chamber 22d and carries a cylindrical member 229 which normally rests by gravity on member I3 but can swing upwardly therefrom under the pressure of any particles of material to be cooked which project from cup 25 when the latter approaches the position shown in Fig. 6. The upward yielding of member 229 permits such particles to pass beneath the member without being crushed and they then fall through measuring cup 25 into member I3 as soon as closure member 26 opens (see Fig.6).

The extensions 22b and 220 and bearing plate ||a close the opening 2I' at all rotative positions of the drum I3 except when said opening is passing beneath the open end of hopper 22 and beneath the chamber 22d, so as to prevent any possible discharge of the particles of material from the drum through said opening.

In order to maintain the proper level of the body of cooking fluid I2 without attention from the operator of the apparatus a reserve tank 32 is mounted above member I3 and has a pipe connection 33 extending downwardly at one side of member I3 to a point just below the desired level of the body of cooking fluid I2. The closure cap 32a on tank 32 makes an air tight fit with the result that cooking fluid passes automatically from reserve tank 32 whenever the level of the body of cooking fluid falls below the end of pipe 33 so as to admit air into tank 32 through said pipe. For convenience tank 32 is secured to hopper 22 and is supported by the latter. When the cooking apparatus is not in use the connection between the tank and pipe 33 may be broken by a hand operated valve 34.

Heating of the body of cooking fluid I2 is effected in any suitable manner as by an electric heating coil 35 in the bottom of container I l. The connection to coil 35 may be broken at 36 when container l is removed from the base. The cooking fluid is held at the desired temperature automatically by suitable thermostatic control means, such as a vapor pressure thermostat which may include a liquid-filled pressure bulb 31 in the body of cooking fluid 12, such bulb having a connecting pipe 38 extending upwardly at one side of member [3 (see Fig. 4). The pipe 38 is attached by a supporting arm 33a to hopper 22 so as to be movable therewith, and has an extensible or flexible portion in the form of coil 3861.. Both pipe 38 and the connection to heater 35 lead to a control box 40 containing any known or suitable thermostatic control means (not shown). A single manually operated member 2i may be used as the on and off switch as well as the setting member for the thermostatic control. Control box 49 is shown mounted on the side of the fixed housing 23.

The assembly of container 1 I, drum I3 and hopper 22 is enclosed by a movable housing member 32 which is open above hopper 22 as well as at the position of the discharge spout it at the discharge end of the apparatus. Member 42 is hinged at points 43 to the side members of the fixed housing 24. Above hopper 22 is a cover 34 which is hinged at 45 to housing 24. Lifting of cover 44 gives the operator access tohopper 22.

The apparatus may be readily disassembled for cleaning at any time and without the use of tools. To effect this, cover 44 is swung back out of position. Housing member 42 is then swung upward and back on its pivots 43. reserve tank 32, feed line 33 and thermostatic pressure bulb 31 may then be swung out and up on pivot pin 23.

It will be noted that the thermostat bulb 3'! together with its connecting pipe 38 and supporting arm 38a, and the liquid feed line 33, are disposed close to one side of the container ll so as to readily pass the drum l3 when they are swung upward with the hopper out of the container. The operator may then break the electrical connection to the heating coil 35 at 36, and then slide the container H with the heating coil 35 and drum I3 resting therein, outwardly (toward the right in Figs. 1 and 2) on the base plate 9 between the guide flanges 9a, disengaging coupling means I9, 29. These parts may be completely removed from the apparatus; the drum l3 and heating coil 35 can then be lifted out of the container, and all the parts can be thoroughly cleaned. The body of cooking medium l2 removed with the container may be poured therefrom to permit cleaning the container, and may be either discarded or saved for further use. After cleaning the parts may be quickly re-assembled by reversing the above steps.

From the above it will be apparent that the cooking apparatus herein disclosed is simple and highly efficient. In use the cooking fluid is first brought to operating temperature; the thermostatic control is then set to maintain such temperature and then the apparatus may be operat- I-Iopper 22 carrying ed for long periods without attention other than supplying the hopper with th material to be cooked and removing the cooked product from receptacle I5. Since the material to be cooked is fed to cooking drum i3 intermittently and in small batches excessive cooling of the cooking fluid is avoided. Excessive loss of fluid by absorption in the material undergoing cooking is avoided and natural flavors are retained. Crushing and breaking of the food particles in the feeding operation is avoided and a product of high and uniform quality is always obtained.

The means described herein for feeding the material from the hopper into the cooking member or drum and for preventing crushing or breaking of the material during such feeding are described and claimed in my divisional application Ser. No. 202,661, filed December 26, 1950.

While the invention has been herein disclosed in what is now considered to be a preferred form, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific details thereof but includes all changes, modifications and adaptations within the scope of the appended claim.

I claim:

In cooking apparatus, in combination, a container for a body of cooking fluid, means for heating said fluid and maintaining it at cooking temperature, a hollow member rotatably mounted over said container and extending therewithin to be partly immersed in the cooking fluid, means for rotatin said member, a hopper for material to be cooked, said hopper having an open end adjacent to and closed by the wall of said member, said member having an opening arranged to register with said open end, a measuring cup within said member to receive a batch of material from said hopper on each revolution of said member, a hinged bottom plate in said cup, a cam holding said hinged plate in closed position while said cup is being filled and until said opening is out of register with said hopper, said hinged plat being movable by gravity to discharge material from said cup into said member, means for moving the material discharged from said measurin cup within said member while the material is sublected to the cooking action of said fluid, and means for discharging the cooked material from said member.

GEORGE ASHTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Stabler Aug. 17, 

